It’s become clear from some of the feedback we are getting, that there is some confusion about how rake is calculated. Here is an explanation, that may help our followers.

As a rakeback player, there are a couple of things you have to know in order to be able to make the most of your deal. As you probably know, rakeback is a percentage of the rake you pay out while playing at real money tables. This percentage can be anything from 25-30% all the way to over 100% (in the case of prop deals). While your percentage is indeed fixed, there are ways you can maximize it, by making sure that you are allotted as much rake contribution as possible.

Here are the different methods poker rooms use to determine a player’s MGR or rake contribution:

1. The dealt rake method. This method takes the rake taken off the pot at the end of the hand and divides it with the number of players dealt into the hand. This way, everyone who got hole-cards gets a little bit of rake contribution allotted.

This method carries obvious advantages for the tight-passive players, (those who do not like to put chips into the pot unless they’re quite certain they have the best hand), because – with a rakeback deal – they’ll be making money on all those hands they decide to fold.

On the other hand, the dealt rake method short-changes the loose aggressive players who end up generating rake for the others this way.

2. The contributed rake method has two versions. The simple contributed rake method awards MGR to all those players who were dealt in and put money into the pot in an equal manner. The resulting rake is equally divided among those who put money into the pot. This way, regardless of how much money you get into the pot, you’ll get just as much MGR allotted as the guy next to you who only called one BB.

Tight-passive rocks will not earn much MGR and thus rakeback, in poker rooms which use this method.

3. The weighted-contributed rake calculation method is the most accurate one. It takes into account how much money a player puts into the pot, and the resulting rake is distributed in direct proportion with the contributed money.

Loose-aggressive players will love this method as it does them full justice, and they will not have to settle with generating rake back for some other guy at their table.

Make a careful assessment in regards to which of these player categories you belong to, and choose your rakeback deal accordingly.